Embarrassed to be a Republican
I am an old, white guy in his 70s. Iβm a veteran, Iβm a gun owner, I have owned a small business, I am a fiscal conservative, and I believe in balanced budgets. I have been for most of my adult life a registered Republican.
That last point is something I now consider an embarrassment. You would think I am exactly what most Republicans would want in their party. But todayβs Republican Party has embraced the nut cases of America. Under the Republican umbrella, you find QAnon, White supremacy, racists and evangelicals that would expect us to live by their standards and claim to be βpro-life,β but the majority favor the death penalty and refuse to consider sensible gun laws.
They elected nutcases like Mark Finchem, Kelli Ward and Donald Trump. A recent Republican commentator said, βWe have to have these people in our tent or we could never win another election.β
If that is what it takes, count me out.
Gary Jones
Northwest side
Notary-to-vote bill DOA
State Rep. Kevin Payneβs bill to require mail-in ballots to be notarized should be marked βD-β and sent back without further consideration. Voters who cannot vote in person should not have to pay for a notary to validate their identity.
This is similar to a poll tax or other action to suppress the right to vote. If the voter need not pay for a notary, has Rep. Payne calculated the cost to the State for picking up this tab? Has Rep. Payne actually made any serious investigation to determine that voter fraud for mail-in ballots is as bad as was reported to him?
Critical thought and review is required for proposed law. We have more than enough half-baked laws on the books that do not serve the citizens of this state.
Geoff Gilbert
SaddleBrooke
Tax breaks or education?
Arizonaβs public education has been rated nationally at the bottom of our country for some time. Education has been an afterthought by our Republican controlled legislature. βWe the peopleβ passed a state-wide proposition to tax the rich and place that money directly into public education.
The Republicans are outraged! They have filed lawsuits against this effort, and they are doing everything they can to neuter the peopleβs right to petition the state.
So while the proposition resides in a Republican-controlled court system, our governor and his party have reported that the state of Arizona is doing so well, that we should give them a nice, fat tax break.
Who controls our state? Is it βwe the peopleβ who want vast improvements in our public education system or businesses who fund and control our legislature? Why do we continue to reelect them to office while they work against our public interest and the right to petition our government?
Roger Engels
Oro Valley
We can fix this
After the events of this historic week, I feel as if America walked through the big wooden doors of βThe Repair Shopβ on Netflix to be greeted by a smiling President Joseph R. Biden. A kind, knowledgeable and seasoned political craftsman and statesman with a dragonfly pin next to the American flag pin on his lapel, who gently took the broken pieces of the country in his grasp and looked up at us all and said, βWe can fix this.β
David Gray
Northeast side
Beating walls into bridges
Item: The Old Testament prescribes beating swords into plowshares.
Item: The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that more than 230,000 bridges in the U.S. need major repair work or replacement.
Item: President Biden has halted construction of former President Donald Trumpβs wall on our Southern Border.
Suggestion: The new Secretary of Transportation and new Director of Homeland Security heed the Biblical prescription for purposeful recycling and collaborate by dismantling the wall and using the then-available steel to repair our bridges.
Max McConkey
Foothills
Local action needed on climate change
We have not arrested COVID-19, but we are getting closer. In a few months, that problem will be resolved, and we can move on to a harder problem β addressing climate change.
A good start would be for Tucson and Pima County to emulate Vancouver, Los Angeles, Barcelona and New York City β all of which are moving to phase out the use of fossil fuels.
Mike Carran
Northeast side
Leave Trumpβs fate to the voters
Who am I? Why would I write this letter? I am a registered Republican who is opposed to liberal spending. I did not vote for Donald Trump. I am in favor of impeaching Trump but opposed to a life ban on running for that office. The American voter should decide who can run for president, not politicians.
Trump has done serious damage to the GOP, but we cannot take away the right of the voter to keep him from doing more even though I have come to seriously doubt the ability of the voter selection process. Maybe the voter needs to learn the hard way.
Michael Ullery
Midtown
Who was that (un)masked man?
Cars have a small front seat compartment known properly as a βglove box.β Motorists keep road maps, important auto papers and napkins/paper straws in this area. Usually there are no gloves or mittens in the glove box. Now that βface coveringsβ are mandatory/required in Tucson and Pima County, when entering any building, our glove boxes can be called mask boxes.
Nine times out of 10, when approaching a building or destination, I often find my face maskless.
Forgetful? Careless? Donβt care? Maybe my staying home is the safest and smartest thing for me to do, today and tomorrow? If I was a bear, I would crawl into my cave and hibernate, until this thing blows over.
Kenneth Unwin
East side
Ducey-appointed judge has head in the sand
It is difficult to tell if Judge Kellie Johnson is unintelligent or a zealot. Her recent ruling allowing bars and restaurants in Pima County to stay open after 10 p.m. ignores the fact that Arizona has more COVID cases per capita than any state in the union. Perhaps she takes her cues from our governor, who appointed her, and who has steadfastly refused to order a mask mandate even though it could save thousands of lives and would protect against the new variants which are 30-70% more transmissible.
This head-in-the-sand approach is why so many Arizonans are ill and dying. Governor Doug Ducey should order a mask mandate and take some of the federal money he has been hoarding and disburse it to bars and restaurants so they can close and still survive and pay employees. Then perhaps we would have a chance to live through this pandemic.
Johnna Matthews
Midtown
Gosar, Biggs a stain on the state
As an Arizonian, I am ashamed that two of Arizonaβs representatives in Congress, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, are deeply associated with the lies, misinformation and extremist groups that stormed our capital causing panic, mayhem, severe bodily harm and death to citizens.
These menβs known ties to groups like The Oath Keepers, and their false insistence that the election was βstolenβ is outrageous. They have stirred up violence and anger based on false premises and should not be representing our great state in Congress.
Our democracy is based on people accepting the results of a fair and free election. Otherwise, anarchy and dictatorship are in the making.
Carolyn Wayland
Tubac
A βBannerβ day for vaccines
Last Wednesday, my family got our first COVID-19 vaccine at the Banner β University Medical Center South site. I cannot say enough good things about the terrific job that has been done to make sure everything is expertly set up to run efficiently and smoothly, from the well-marked driving routes to the check-in to the administration of the vaccine.
But the real stars of the operation are the people β the polite and helpful ones who direct the traffic and answer questions, to all the beautiful angel heroes (men and women) who helped us fill out forms, explained the procedures and very professionally and painlessly gave the shots. All this while braving the cold and wind that morning.
Their kindness and thoughtfulness are unparalleled and oh-so-much appreciated. A thousand thanks to you all!
Klara Cserny
Southwest side
